August 4, 2017--Jack: "What If . . .?"

"What if if there's no there there."

"What in God's name are you talking about?" Jack is not at his best when he tries to be clever.

"I called to see what you think."

"About there-there?"

"About my boy. The Donald." Jack was sounding chipper.

I thought--what am I missing? He's chipper after the ten days Trump just completed? Failing to get the Senate to pass even a vacuous healthcare bill; Congress' passage of a veto-proof Russian sanctions bill Trump opposed; the fiasco about his direct involvement in drafting Donald Junior's note about the dirt-on-Hillary meeting with Russians; and then of course Sean Spicer's quitting; the mini-appointment of Anthony Scaramucci; Reince Priebus' "resignation." Things of that sort.

"Here's what I'm thinking. I mean wondering about."

"Go on."

"I mean, as I said, maybe there's no there there." I sighed. "For month's you and people like you have been talking about Trump's being guilty of colluding with the Russians to undermine Hillary's campaign and how Trump probably has all sorts of business dealings with the Russians. Not to mention that scurrilous BuzzFeed dossier that claims that Trump, while in Russia for the Miss Universe pageant, was caught on tape fooling around with prostitutes. I forgot what you called it--something about a razor?"

He really had me confused. He said, "The razor business."

"Ockham's Razor, right," I said, remembering. "About how it's used to come up with the simplest explanation for a lot of seemingly unrelated information."

"That's the one."

"How almost everything Trump has said or done that has anything at all to do with Russia--from his refusal to acknowledge their meddling in Clinton's campaign to his going ballistic whenever it's hinted that one of his children was involved, and of course firing Comey and saying how he would also like to sack Mueller, all of this and more," I said, "'makes sense,' in Ockham's Razor terms if Trump himself was up to his eyeballs in dirty-dealings with Putin and the Russians."

"Exactly."

I was surprised to hear Jack agree with this, so I added--"Until Mueller and his battalion of lawyers get to the bottom of things, Trump is the only one who knows what he did and didn't do. His being guilty would explain almost everything that has been going on."

"That's my point!" He was getting more excited by the minute.

"What's your point? That Trump is drowning in his own . . ."

Jack cut me off, "That maybe he did and maybe he didn't."

"Here we go," I said, more and more exasperated. "I don't have time for games, so either get to your point or I'm hanging up."

"This is America, right?"

"More talking in riddles," I said, ready to hang up.

Jack pressed on, "In America you're innocent until proven guilty, right. Apply that to Trump. As you say, he's the only one who knows what he did and didn't do. It's conceivable, then that he could have clean hands. No colluding with the Russians to defeat Hillary, no substantial financial ties with Russia, and no truth about anything much in that so-called dossier,"

"Anything's possible," I said, "Even that he has clean hands, but what are the chances . . ."

"Think of it this way. He loves to entertain and surprise. Notice how different things are after only three days of General Kelly becoming chief of staff. No incendiary tweets, no crazy off the cuff remarks or inappropriate behavior."

"Let's see how long that lasts."

"Months ago, after he was nominated and then really after he was elected, people, even you, wondered if he would pivot. Become more presidential. Maybe he's finally about to do that. He has been letting the investigations play out, he's fulminated about Mueller, but he's still there. Do you think if Trump was seriously, legally guilty he would let Mueller continue? Wouldn't he roll the dice and fire him?"

"Where are you going with this," I asked Jack.

"Maybe there's another Ockham's Razor analysis--that there's no there there."

"Again you . . ."

"That Trump's been playing Mueller, the media, and all the rest of us. Just when he's about to go down for the last time, just before the house collapses on him, he'll pull back all his defenses, share his tax information, and show everyone there's nothing of substance behind any of the charges."

"I'll tell you what I think is going one with you."

"I'm all ears."

"Pure and simple, he's crazy and you're scared. Because you think he's going under. Just yesterday there was a story in the Wall Street Journal that Mueller empaneled the grand jury. To Trump, and to you too, this must feel ominous. So you're looking desperately for explanations other that he and his cohorts committed crimes."

Not dealing with that, Jack said, "Time and time again he's proven to be crazy like a fox. If what I'm saying is true, what do you think will happen to his approval ratings? I'll bet they'd soar to 60 percent. At that time he could become the powerful president a lot of us have been waiting to see him become. Think about how that would be viewed by both the public and Congress. It would be like a Houdini escape--it looks as if he's finished and then when all seems lost he surfaces and everything is well. Better than well."

"I suppose anything's possible. But this one strains credulity. To let himself get into so much unnecessary jeopardy is way beyond putting on a show. I know he's into providing entertainment and maybe in some case flirts with near-death experiences, but if what you're saying is true, he really is reckless. In fact, worse than reckless."

"I like your comparing him to Houdini," Jack said, "Like all magicians Houdini was a master of diversion. He gets you to watch his left hand while he's doing his thing with his right one. You yourself acknowledged Trump is great at diverting attention. This could be his masterpiece."

"Like I said--this is crazy. Talk about there not being any there there."

"Good one," Jack said, laughing. "Let's be a little patient and see how this plays out."